Editorial: Keep safety ahead of interstate speed

By Wilmington StarNews/Halifax Media ENC

Published: Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 12:13 PM.

Beep, beep! If you're one who drives in the slow lane on the interstates, you might be seeing cars whiz past you at even higher speeds than usual – if a bill to raise the speed limit to 75 on some stretches of road passes.

Right now, the bill is sidelined in the House Transportation Committee, where it should remain.

Supporters of adding to the racetrack atmosphere of some of our highways rightly point out that lots of people ignore the current
70 mph
speed limit, and that interstates are built for speed. But those who drive over 70 now risk getting a ticket; those who travel
80 mph
or higher risk a misdemeanor charge.

Ironically, under the bill under consideration, there would only be a
5 mph
difference between legal and criminal speed. Someone is likely to point that out, too.

Speeding on our highways does occur, but that is no reason to sanction even faster speeds. Drivers who routinely ignore the
70 mph
limit will likely do the same when the speed is increased to 75.

Rep. Edward Starnes of
Caldwell
County
, quoted his mother, obviously a wise woman: "Have you folks completely lost your mind?" AAA Carolinas, the motoring club that lobbies for its members' interests and often polls them on their feelings about proposals related to roads and travel, was a bit less blunt but nevertheless voiced its opposition to the higher limits.

The question isn't whether one car can travel safely at
75 mph
. Absent heavy traffic, it may be a perfectly safe trip. But problems occur when there is a big difference between the slowest and fastest drivers. And that gap would be even wider when the slowest drivers can travel
45 mph
and the fastest at 75 – or beyond.

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published
without permission. Links are encouraged.

Beep, beep! If you're one who drives in the slow lane on the interstates, you might be seeing cars whiz past you at even higher speeds than usual – if a bill to raise the speed limit to 75 on some stretches of road passes.

Right now, the bill is sidelined in the House Transportation Committee, where it should remain.

Supporters of adding to the racetrack atmosphere of some of our highways rightly point out that lots of people ignore the current 70 mph speed limit, and that interstates are built for speed. But those who drive over 70 now risk getting a ticket; those who travel 80 mph or higher risk a misdemeanor charge.

Ironically, under the bill under consideration, there would only be a 5 mph difference between legal and criminal speed. Someone is likely to point that out, too.

Speeding on our highways does occur, but that is no reason to sanction even faster speeds. Drivers who routinely ignore the 70 mph limit will likely do the same when the speed is increased to 75.

Rep. Edward Starnes of CaldwellCounty, quoted his mother, obviously a wise woman: "Have you folks completely lost your mind?" AAA Carolinas, the motoring club that lobbies for its members' interests and often polls them on their feelings about proposals related to roads and travel, was a bit less blunt but nevertheless voiced its opposition to the higher limits.

The question isn't whether one car can travel safely at 75 mph. Absent heavy traffic, it may be a perfectly safe trip. But problems occur when there is a big difference between the slowest and fastest drivers. And that gap would be even wider when the slowest drivers can travel 45 mph and the fastest at 75 – or beyond.